The Net misinformed us. As such, we were living under a grave misapprehension. Well, to be more accurate, we were living under two misapprehensions, neither of which had fatal repercussions, but they did affect us in a negative way, not negative enough to be considered grave, true, but they did make us feel like we were ripped off, taken advantage of, exploited, punched in the stomach just when we thought we would have a reason to smile, that’s how these misapprehensions made us feel, and it was because of the Net.

We were expecting there to be a bowling alley on the ship, that was the most notable item we learned on the Net, but the woman behind the circulation desk informed us differently.

Not on this ship, she said. That’s the… here she mentioned what was for us an imaginary Norwegian Cruise Line ship that had a similar though very different name from the one we were on. This imaginary Norwegian Cruise Line ship had a bowling alley, but the Sky, which we were on, had no bowling alley.

What could we say to that? However disappointing her answer was, it couldn’t be contested. All we could do was nod our heads, express our minor discontent with a few simple words, and continue exploring this beautiful Norwegian ship. No one could be blamed for the non-presence of this bowling alley, not even the person who wrote the content on their official website.

But the straight fact is that this was not the first, but the second time we were all but physically forced to swallow a minor discontent that we were in no part responsible for. That’s right, earlier, shortly after checking in and going through the mandatory evacuation drill that requires passengers to gather on the gangway and wear orange life jackets, we asked one of the poolside crew members where the free sail away champagne was.

He shook his head and broke the news, Free champagne, uh, no, not on this ship. He then offered us a bucket of beer, buy five beers get one free, without even bothering to mention the imaginary name of another NCL ship that did have free bubbly for its passengers. All he said was, Not on this ship, but we do have beer.

I couldn’t take that answer, especially with no bowling alley on board. I pressed the issue. I said, What you’re saying is that the free sail away bubbly that was promised on the Internet doesn’t exist?

There is no free bubbly on this ship, sir. You can buy a bucket of beer, however, buy five beers get one free.

Two minor disappointments happen fifteen miles off the shore of South Florida, and our only option is to eat them and say, The Internet told us differently, that’s all, it’s no one’s fault, let’s just make the most of whatever this beautiful ship does have to offer.

We went to our stateroom, poured some clear rum from the mini bar we smuggled on board, and toasted to no harm done.